Command and Conquer: Vendetta
by LLaz
Summary: When a young man has everything he holds dear taken away from him, he embarks on a campaign for answers and retribution. He soon learns a terrifying truth and gets much more than he bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey there folks. This is my first story that I'll be uploading to this site, so try not to be too vicious in the reviews. Also, I'm going to get something out in the open right off the bat. The story may not seem like Command and Conquer, but trust me - there'll be references. And besides, this story is the opening act in a three part trilogy that I have planned. The other two will definitely be Command and Conquer based.

So with that said, enjoy the story. I'll upload chapters when I can, so please be patient with me. I am new with this after all. And one more thing: I would appreciate it if you, the readers, could give me some feedback so that i man know how my story is coming along.

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**Prologue - Chapter One**

**Christmas Time - "Holy shit!"**

It was a quiet winter night on Christmas Eve. Most of the houses were dark, with little lighting to illuminate them save for the street lights. All of the children on the block were sound asleep in their beds, with perhaps one or two children still up wanting to catch a glimpse at a certain round, jolly man in a red suit. The street lights that dotted the street here and there illuminated the falling snow as it slowly drifted earthward. If one could gaze at the moon – it was being covered by the clouds which continually distributed their seemingly endless supply of snow – it would be seen as a full moon.

No wind rustled up the snow that rested on the lawns of the peoples' houses and the street of the quiet cul-de-sac. The children would be happy for this calm weather. The following day they would be happily playing various winter games in the snow. Last year around Christmas, the weather was not something to write home about as the weather was predicted to be calm, just like this year. However, at the last second (right on Christmas Eve) the weather changed to a raging blizzard that made it dangerous to travel, let alone play in.

But this year would be different. Parties will occur, city events will be planned, and parents working out of town will return home to the happy faces of their children and loved ones.

And so, the children of the neighborhood slumbered and dreamed of the day ahead.

______________________________________________________________________________

Not every kid on the block was asleep, resting for the day ahead. On 1612 Lazarus Circle, a 17-year-old adolescent was still up. The teen's small room was softly lit by an electric lamp and the steady _tap-tap-tap _of a keyboard sounded through the room. He sat at his desk, aglow by the white light emitted from his computer screen. He only briefly stopped typing to check the time. His alarm clock read ten minutes past two in the morning. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, thinking of what next to put in his essay.

As he was thinking, another thought came forward from the back of his mind. He sighed again as he silently cursed himself for bringing up the thought and his history teacher for giving him such a brutal homework assignment.

'_Dammit,' _he thought,_ 'Who gives a five-page essay as homework on the Christmas break?' _He just sat there in his chair for a couple seconds, staring at his computer screen, before finally groaning aloud, "Oh man. Why does my teacher enjoy giving out hard homework assignments?"

A knock just then sounded on his door and the teen beckoned the new visitor to enter. The door opened to reveal a man in his mid-forties with brown hair and eyes, a straight nose, and large bags under his eyes. He looked tired, _really_ tired. Almost as if he stayed up all night working. But despite his fatigue, he still made an effort to make a weary smile.

"Good morning Leo," the man said. Leo smiled at that.

"Yeah. Morning to you to Dad."

The teen's father sat down at his bed. Leo noticed he was holding a cardboard box.

"Why are you still up at this hour, Champ?" his father asked.

Leo gestured toward his computer screen, at which point his father realized what he was doing, "Homework? I thought that you didn't have any homework over the break."

"I thought I didn't have homework either," Leo replied. "I just remembered it today. Fortunately, I still have a week left to finish the essay. I'm already on page two and I need to do three more pages."

"Good work Leo," his father said. "What is the topic of your essay?"

Leo leaned back in his chair, ran a hand through his hair, and exhaled a heavy and weary sigh for the second time.

"My damn history teacher assigned us this big project on the American Civil War, starting with this essay." Leo swivelled his chair around to look at his father and asked, "Think you can help me out with this?"

His father shook his head. "Sorry Champ, but history was my weak spot in school. I barely even remember what the teacher taught me." He paused for a few seconds, thinking. "Or...it could be that I didn't pay much attention in class."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Well no wonder that you don't remember anything, Dad," Leo scoffed. "You were probably asleep half the time."

Leo stole another glance at the cardboard box. "Hey Dad, just out of curiosity, but what's in the box?"

"Oh, uh...this you mean?" his father said a little hesitantly.

"Yes Dad, the box your holding. And don't even bother hiding it behind your back," Leo said to his father who was making a slightly comical effort to hide the box from his son's view. "Just because the box is behind your back doesn't mean I don't know its there," his son went on, "That may have worked, if only I was a four-year-old kid. Now spill it!"

"Well, aren't you the demanding one, Leo. I might have to give your Christmas present to someone else."

"Go ahead, Dad. I don't mind. After all, I don't need it, since it is just a present."

His father smiled at that, "Damn. That trick never works on you, does it?"

"No, not really."

"But seriously Dad, what's in the box?"

"Ah, it's...it's nothing son."

"Come on dad. Its not like it's my Christmas present."

A nervous smile played across his father's face. "Funny you should mention that Leo," his father said.

"It is, isn't it?" Leo asked. His father nodded his head with a sheepish smile on his face.

"So you were thinking that you could just slip in here while I was asleep and deliver my present, huh Dad?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Leo sighed and shook his head. "You do this every year, you know that?"

"Sorry Leo. Something I picked up from my dad. He always gave out presents early."

Grinning, Leo said: "Yeah, uh, aren't we supposed to learn from our parents mistakes?"

"It's not really a mistake Leo. Oh wait, I forgot. In your book, that does count as a mistake."

"Yeah, because as I recall, according to Christmas tradition, presents are opened on_ Christmas Day_," Leo argued, emphasizing on the Christmas Day part.

"But Leo, it is Christmas Day. Don't believe me? Then check the time," his father said, gesturing towards Leo's alarm clock.

Leo didn't have to check the time, as he just then remembered the time and thus the key point of the argument: technically, it was Christmas Day. Leo sighed. _'Leo you dumbass.'_

"The caffeine has worn out," Leo murmured to himself. His father must have heard him as he then said:

"That may be, seeing as this argument is pointless. After all, I'm giving you a Christmas present early, even though it is technically Christmas."

There was a lengthy pause as Leo just stared, dumbfounded, at his father who had just beat him at his own game and pointed out how pointless, and maybe silly, the situation really was. His father just simply smiled back. Leo finally snapped out of his stupor.

"You know what Dad, you're right. This whole argument is stupid. So I'll stop being so ungrateful and I'll just see what you got me," Leo said, the last sentence being said as he reach for the box.

His father however, pulled the box out of his son's reach and chose to further tease Leo. "Oh no. I can't do that. After all, it'd be against Christmas tradition. So I'll just –"

He never finished his last sentence, as Leo snatched the box from his father with the speed of a rattlesnake. His father sighed, and then chuckled.

"Alright. Go Ahead."

"Thank you."

Leo reached for a drawer in his desk, opened it, and rummaged through the drawer for a few seconds. Upon finding what he was looking for – a utility knife – Leo closed the drawer and turned his attention back to his mystery gift. _I wonder what Dad got me?_ Leo thought as he proceeded to cut open the box.

All the while, Leo's father continued to watch Leo open his gift and, much to his enjoyment, see Leo's expression change from wonderment to complete surprise and delight. Leo practically jumped out of his chair and nearly yelled:

"Holy shit!"

"Watch it," Leo's father said, smiling. "You don't want to wake your mother with that kind of language do you?"

"Sorry," Leo replied sheepishly. "But seriously, do you know how long I've had my eye on this thing?"

"That's why I bought it. I knew you were interested in it."

"Now what I'm wondering is how much it cost you," Leo said.

"A pretty penny, that's for sure. I spent something like seven hundred dollars on that thing."

"I was saving up for this, you know."

"Ah dammit, why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't tell _me_. And besides, that would ruin the surprise." Leo practically finalized the argument right there.

"How 'bout I give you the money I was saving up?" he offered. His father refused.

"Nah, no need. It's tempting to accept, but it's your money and you earned it yourself."

"Alright, if you insist."

Leo finally removed his gift from the box to examine it – which turned out to be a Desert Eagle pistol. There was also a green ammo box and the gun's magazine in the cardboard box. On the side of the ammo box were the words _.50 Action Express_.

'_Big bullets_,' Leo thought, although he already knew this. The smallest bullets the Desert Eagle fired were .357 Magnum bullets and those were already big bullets. Leo momentarily set the gun on his desk and turned his attention to the magazine. He found it to be already loaded with rounds, which was probably the reason why the magazine was removed from the gun. He then started to remove the rounds, counting each one as it was removed, until the magazine was completely empty. He counted a total of seven bullets.

He then turned his attention to the gun. The first thing that came to Leo's mind was which variant of Desert Eagle did he have here. Then he saw the rails on the top and underneath the barrel of the pistol and immediately had his answer. _Hm. Looks like a Mark 19,_ Leo thought. His thoughts were then interrupted by his father who spoke up.

"So..." his father said, smiling. "Are you finished with your little analysis?" he said in a joking manner. Leo smiled in kind and said:

"Yes, I think I've learned all I need to know." Then Leo switched gears and became a bit more serious.

"This is, as you already know, a Desert Eagle pistol – gas operated, semi-automatic. What I've learned is that this particular gun is the Mark 19 variant. I know this because of the rails on the gun, which are used to mount a sighting device – such as a scope – and that the Mark 19 is the only variant that supports this feature. Also, if I recall correctly, the Mark 19 allows for quick barrel replacement so that it can use a different sized bullet. Now, I could be wrong, but all variants allow for barrel change. This particular gun fires the .50 Action Express bullet with a seven round magazine. My conclusion: the firearm is customizable and, due to its semi-auto nature, I can fire seven .50 caliber bullets in rapid succession at the enemy. But due to the fact that the Desert Eagle is not exactly designed for combat, it would be targets I would be shooting – not people."

Leo finished his "lecture" and loaded the empty magazine, cocked the gun and performed a feat that utterly surprised and impressed his father: Leo rapidly twirled the gun on his index finger. What was more impressive was that Leo displayed complete mastery of what he was doing. Not a single mistake was made as Leo continued to twirl what was now a circular blur. Leo then completed a final revolution and aimed at a vacant wall. And then he was motionless, aiming down the pistol's sights, as if he could see a target that only he could see. He seemed to stay that way forever, as if his target was in time itself. Then, finally, _click_.

His father just stared at him, utterly shocked with awe. Then he laughed, breaking the silence.

"What?" Leo asked, confused. His father just laughed for a few more seconds before calming down and explaining.

"That..." He paused to find the right words. Leo had a feeling where this was heading and noticed, with a tad bit of glee and amusement, the expression on his father's face.

"...whole performance you just did. I have never seen you do something like that before." He laughed again, "Wow. How did you learn how to do that?"

Leo smirked and said: "Practice, patience, persistence, and a lot of bruises and sore fingers and toes," the last part being said with a laugh.

"I can imagine," his father replied.

He broke into a second laughing fit as another thought came to his mind. Leo did not have to ask has father to voice his mind again as his father then said: "Only a gun freak like you would do something like that, and know everything there is to know about this thing," his father laughed.

"You know, I kinda find that a bit offensive. I prefer the more accurate term 'weapons aficionado,'" Leo said. His father chuckled.

"Sorry, _aficionado_."

Leo playfully made a hurt expression and said: "That doesn't sound very sincere."

His father chuckled again. His energy, however, seemed to have been drained from, as he yawned only a few seconds after his chuckling.

"Yeah well, it is, even if I don't look or sound like it," his father replied. He tried to stifle another yawn but failed.

Leo felt a yawn coming on too, in which he did yawn. "Don't yawn Dad. It's contagious."

"Good. It'll get you to bed. I'm planning on taking you to the firing range tomorrow to test out your new toy, but I can't take you if you're not well rested."

Leo practically gave up anymore resistance he still had in going to sleep right then and there. Leo tried to cheer but was stopped by another yawn surprise attack.

"Alright you win. I'll go to bed," Leo said as he started the process of saving his work and shutting down his computer.

"Good. I'll see you in the morning then," Leo's father got up to leave. But before he reached the door, he paused.

"And by the way Leo..." his father said, turning to him. "That little display you showed me there kinda scared me a little bit," he said with a small grin. "Please don't go running off and shooting people with that thing."

"Come on Dad, what do you take me for, a psychopath?"

His father merely chuckled in reply. "Good night Leo." And with that, his father left for his own room, closing Leo's door behind him.

Leo however, did not go to bed just yet. He canceled the computer's shutdown process and double-checked if he had saved his work. Fortunately, he did. So he started the shutdown process again, only this time letting it complete the process. Leo then turned his attention to his new gun. He removed the magazine and placed the gun in the cardboard box. Then he collected the seven bullets he removed from the magazine and reloaded them one by one until the magazine was full again. He then placed the magazine next to the pistol in the cardboard box and set the box on his desk. Then he turned off the lamp, removed the covers of his bed, and plopped himself down, where he quickly and silently drifted off to sleep.

Now on with the show!


	2. Chapter 2

**Prologue - Chapter Two**

**Trouble is Brewing**

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

It was now 3:35 in the morning. At the top of the cul-de-sac was a car parked on the corner, overlooking the neighborhood. It was slightly covered in snow with the windshield continually being cleared by the wipers.

"What are you talking about?" a second voice asked scornfully.

In the car sat two men looking down on the quiet street.

"I meant what I said: I don't have a good feeling about doing this," the first voice replied with a hint of irritation in is voice.

The only light source inside the car – a softly-lit cigarette – only slightly illuminated the faces of these two men. The second voice let out an annoyed sigh, which was followed by a puff of smoke.

"God dammit Mike, what the hell is your problem this time?" The first voice that was called Mike hesitated for a moment, possibly due to his friend's hostility. But whatever the reason was for his hesitation, it did not stop him from voicing his opinion.

"It's just that....Doesn't it feel bad to you that we're stealing from people, especially on Christmas? I mean, we could be stealing from a kid for all we know, Bob."

The second voice, now identified as Bob, merely chuckled as if that had little meaning to him.

"Relax, Mike. I'm not that fucked up."

Mike did not seem to have been satisfied. "But don't you feel any guilt for stealing from people at all?"

Bob removed the cigarette from his mouth, irritated, and sighed, resulting in another puff of smoke. "Listen, I dislike this as much as you do -"

"Bullshit."

Bob ignored his associate, despite his rise in irritation. "- but because of the hole I'm in, its kinda necessary."

"Like how its necessary to kill cops?" That comment went too far for Bob's tastes and his irritation exploded to anger.

His hand flew out and grabbed the collar of Mike's shirt.

"Now listen here, you damn idiot! I don't enjoy killing people, especially cops! The only reason why I shoot them was because they were IN...THE...WAY! YOU GET IT NOW, YOU FUCKING RETARD!?"

Mike, despite being surprised by his friend's anger and aggression, kept a stoic expression on his face. "That's not how I look at it. We had at least two options of escape back there. What you did was unnecessary and only brought us unneeded attention. We're on the police's hit list right now because of you. We even got the best cop in town personally hunting us down."

Bob, for some reason, seemed to calm down slightly after that was said. "Well that's why we're hunting him down too. And we'll kill him before he kills us."

Mike blanched and his eyes widened. "Kill?" And then Mike's eyes grew even wider. "What do you mean 'we'?" he asked alarmed.

"That's right. You weren't told anything."

"Told what?"

Mike was incredibly fearful by now. Whatever he was going to be told, Mike had a feeling that he was not going to like it.

"The boss ordered the two of us to hunt down and kill that Lazarus cop and his family, if necessary." Mike's heart practically jumped out of his chest.

"What? No. No, no, no, I am not killing this guy!" Mike said, almost yelling.

"Relax. The only reason why you're here is to fight the guy if it ever comes down to it. If it does, then all I need you to do is knock him out, then I'll snuff him out!"

"Why me?" Mike asked, not calming down in the least.

"Because you're the best fighter in the organization."

"I'm not the be-." Mike paused. Then he realized something. "Wait. What happened to the other guy?"

"He's rotting in prison right now," Bob replied nonchalantly. He was completely calm know - back to the state he was in before the conversation started. Bob took another puff from the cigarette.

"What? How?" Mike asked, not completely believing what he was hearing.

"The arrogant son of a bitch that he is was picking fights and causing general trouble. Eventually, somebody reported him to the police and that Lazarus cop showed up. The two ended up in a bare-knuckled brawl and he got his ass kicked by the cop. Hence the current position he's in."

Bob removed the cigarette from his mouth, blew out another puff of smoke, and added: "Personally, I've never really liked the guy."

Mike released a long and heavy sigh.

'_Great. What a wonderful predicament I've somehow fallen into.' _Mike thought.

"You do realize that I have nothing to do with this and that I don't want to get involved, right?" Mike asked.

"And you do realize that the orders were from the boss himself and that you cannot possibly hope to refuse them without suffering some form of consequence, right?" Bob asked back.

Mike sighed again. "Yeah, I know." Mike, who was sitting in the driver's seat, turned the keys in the ignition and the car hummed to life.

'_Well, might as well get started.' _Mike thought. "So were should we start?"

Bob just simply and randomly singled out a house on the cul-de-sac.

"Lets start with that house down there."


	3. Chapter 3

**Prologue - Chapter Three**

**Organisation and Premonition**

Leo awoke wearily, bleary eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of his room. With a groan, he moved his head to look at his alarm clock. 4:00. Leo just stared at it for several more seconds before reacting with a second, more irritated groan.

'_What the hell,'_ Leo thought, not really questioning anything. _'I've only slept for two hours.'_ Leo just laid there, not really doing anything, hoping that he will eventually fall asleep again. But he knew that it would be impossible to fall back asleep now. Once he woke up from sleeping (either a nap or a night's sleep), it would be very difficult to fall back asleep. If Leo wanted to get more sleep, then he needed to do something.

So, with that fact in mind, he forced himself out of bed and into a sitting position, albeit rather slowly. And yet, with a goal in mind, Leo didn't really know what to do. _'I could watch TV or play a game.'_ He looked at his TV, which sat atop a dresser that was situated to the right of his desk. Sitting alongside his TV was a Zcube 720, a video game system.

He was about to get up and turn on the Zcube, but at the that moment, his gaze shifted ever so slightly to fall upon the box sitting on his desk. He froze his gaze on the box, and then smiled, remembering what the box contained. _'Actually, I think I'll watch the news.'_ He got up from his bed and moved to his TV and turned it to CNN.

He didn't pay much attention at first to the TV - the man on-screen was currently talking about the weather. Leo didn't need an update about the weather, since it always snowed here in the winter. So with that, he turned to his desk and opened the box that was sitting there.

Inside was his brand-new Desert Eagle pistol. Leo picked it up and held it in his hands, admiring the large pistol. It really was brand-new. The metal of the gun glinted in the light that was produced by the TV.

'_Man. I've had my sights set on this bad boy for a while now. I've never fired a Desert Eagle before. Can't wait to see the kick on this thing!' _Just for the fun of it, Leo grabbed the magazine from inside the box and emptied it. Then, he slid the magazine into place inside the firarm.

Leo didn't even bother pulling the slide back, no point in "arming" the gun when there was nothing in it. _'Dry-firing is boring anyway.'_

Instead, he opted to twirl the pistol on his finger like how he did several hours earlier, when he was showing his dad what he could do with a gun.

Then, a thought came to him. _'Dad's smart to worry about me with a gun in my hands. Technically, I'm not even old enough to properly own this yet.' _Leo sighed at that thought.

'_Guess I'll just have to let Dad hold onto this until I'm old enough.' _Another thought came to Leo. _'But what if I actually snapped? I could actually kill people with this thing....Oh yeah, Dad's right to worry!'_

He glanced at the TV, all the while still twirling the gun on his index finger like a gunslinger from a wild west movie. The TV screen now showed the anchorman and the weatherman chatting; apparently they were talking about last years major snowstorm that occurred last Christmas.

"...Well Bill, I'm glad that we won't be experiencing another storm here in Chicago this year,"the weatherman said to the anchorman. The anchorman, now identified as Bill, smiled at that. "I know exactly how you feel Oliver."

Leo, for one, was thankful for mother nature being merciful this year. Yes, Chicago was known for being pretty damn cold during the winter, but last year's storm not only reduced the city's morale but it was also a pretty powerful storm. Practically one of the worst storms Chicago had ever experienced.

Leo turned his attention back to the TV.

"...authorities are still on the lookout for two bank robbers responsible for stealing fifteen thousand dollars from a Wells Fargo bank and starting a shootout at the very same location on Monday earlier this week. Three officers were killed with another five wounded. Of the twenty-two hostages inside the bank, none were harmed. Fortunately, the two gunmen's getaway vehicle has been identified. They have been spotted in a General Motors, Pontiac G8, with a blue paint job. The license plate number is 663-5572. Anyone spotting this vehicle..."

Leo stopped listening once the licence plate number was given. _'Oh yeah. There's that little tidbit of cheery news,'_ Leo thought bitterly.

But of course, the news was not cheery at all. Leo had known one of the cops that was killed in the bank robbery, along with his dad. His dad, however, knew him better than Leo did - the two worked together and were good friends to boot. In fact, those two were the best cops in the force.

'_Well...Dad is the best cop on the force now,' _Leo thought somberly. Leo might not have known his father's friend very well like his dad did, but he still liked him. He was kind of cool in fact.

Leo just stood in silence, not listening to the TV and twirling his gun on his index finger. He was like this for a minute or two before a new thought came to him. His brow furrowed at the thought.

'_Wait a minute. Didn't Eddie mention something like that car?' _He stopped twirling his gun and placed it back inside the box. He reached for his cell phone, unplugged it from it's charger and turned it on. All of this was done with an urgency that Leo was quite aware of. By the time the phone was fully turned on, a process that took a couple of seconds, Leo recognised his anxiety and he was slightly puzzled by his feelings. He did not linger on those thoughts, however, as he quickly looked up Eddie's name in the directory and pressed the call button. He did not have to wait long.

After two rings of the phone, Eddie answered. "Yo, Vandirez here," he said. Leo could pick up a faint feeling of cockiness in the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Eddie. It's me."

"Leo!" Eddie greeted enthusiastically. "My good man! What can I do for you at this early hour?"

"Well, aren't you the salesman," Leo joked. Eddie laughed in response.

"You know it! Just tell me what ya need and I'll check our stock!" Eddie laughed again. "So what do you need?"

"Information." Leo could practically hear him smile even wider than he probably was now.

"Questions, huh? About what exactly?"

"You know that car you told me about earlier yesterday?"

Eddie seemed to lose the playful demeanor he had. "You mean the one that practically blasted by me like a bat out of Hell?"

"Yeah, that one. Could you tell me what specific model it was?"

Leo heard Eddie chuckle on the other end. "What?"

"Dude, I can already tell where you're going with this."

"Then you'll know that it's about those bank robbers, right?"

"Yes. I've been watching the news recently since the robbery and I'm aware of the fact that the cops have put quite a price on the culprits heads."

Leo heard the rustling of paper on the other end. After a brief pause Eddie continued.

"Yep. Says here on this flier that the cops will pay three thousand dollars each, provided that we give them information pertaining the whereabouts of the car, seeing as they don't know the identity of the two yet."

"Yes, I'm already aware of that poster Eddie. Could you please skip to the part that's actually helpful to me?"

"Jeez, hasty aren't we," Eddie joked. Before Leo could make a retort, Eddie continued.

"Anyway, I've been tailing the two for the better part of my day and early morning. You'll never believe where I've found the two."

Leo decided to humor him. "Ok, I'll bite. Where?" At that point, he could here laughter on the other end again.

"A fucking burger joint! Man, I got the license plate number and everything. The car isn't even their's, dude!"

"Wait, it was you who tipped off the police about the license plate number?" Leo asked.

"Yep, that was me all right."

"Then if you've managed to follow them, then that means that you saw there faces, right?"

"Yeah, I saw there faces all right," Eddie replied.

"Eddie! You could have reported them to the police, damn it!" Leo was more than slightly pissed at Eddie's lack of action. Before Leo could reprimand him any further, Eddie explained.

"Dude, knowing a face is different than knowing a name. And besides I didn't have a camera on me and my cell's camera just won't cut it, nor do I interact with the police. You've of all people should know that about me."

Leo didn't reply and sighed, choosing to calm himself down. He really couldn't blame his friend for being convenient at any possible time. He's not god after all and he was not exactly friends with the police either.

"Anyway, you're still tailing them, right?" Leo asked.

"I sure am. But get this, their car is parked right at the curb going into your street."

"What?" Leo asked incredulously. Leo couldn't believe it. Here he was, entertaining the thought of hunting down the criminals with Eddie's help and they decided to unwittingly come straight to him! What luck!

"Dude, where are you?" Leo asked with a sense of excitement.

"I'm parked right at the top of the cul-de-sac like they are, except they're not in the car. I've checked their ride and I gotta say, they've got a lot of dough stashed in their trunk. They're probably out robbing some houses, and on Christmas Day..."

Leo wasn't listening anymore. He couldn't believe his incredible luck. He could get the two crooks busted right now with a simple call to the police. And Leo would be getting his sweet, sweet revenge as well.

"DUDE!"

Leo was jostled from his thoughts. "What?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Did you even hear what I said?" Eddie asked.

"No and it doesn't matter Eddie. Just stay there I'm going to meet you right -"

"They've got guns Leo!" Eddie nearly yelled. He seemed to succeed in getting Leo's attention since he did not readily reply.

"And I mean they've got guns. In the car, there's several pistols and AKs, a shotgun, body armor, ammo, they even have fucking explosives!"

Leo was stunned. No wonder they pulled of the bank heist so easily. These two criminals were armed to the teeth and similarly protected as well. Leo swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat.

"What do you suggest we do then, Eddie?"

"The one thing we're not going to do is call the police. They're not properly equipped to deal with people like this and they're too understaffed already as it is. They need to call SWAT for this kinda job. And by the time the professionals get here, those two might have come and gone."

"Are you implying that we hunt them down and deal with them, just the two of us?" Leo questioned.

"Yeah dude, that's pretty much it."

Leo ran a hand through is hair and sighed.

"You know what Eddie? You're a fucking nut," Leo said.

Eddie laughed. "So I've been told. But don't worry Leo, I sent Miguel to round up the rest of the guys. So we'll have some backup..." Eddie trailed off. It sounded like he had something else to say.

And sure enough, before Leo could press any further, Eddie spoke his mind, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"I also told Miguel to see if he can get Ruth to help us."

"No," Leo said flatly.

"What? Oh come on, dude! She's got a mean right hook! She could easily take down one of them at least and by the time the other gets wise we'll have our guns -"

"My decision still stands, Eddie. I don't want her to be involved in this."

"You're just saying that 'cause you want to go out with her," Eddie replied jokingly.

Leo smiled at that. "No, I don't," he said calmly as best he could.

Eddie laughed. "You're a terrible liar, Leo. I can practically hear the smile in your voice."

Leo dropped his smile and was silent for a moment. Eddie must have picked up on this, as he then said "Dude, I was just joking around."

"Yeah, I know." He was silent again. Eddie decided that it would be best to just drop the subject.

After an uneasy silence on Eddie's part that lasted for several seconds, Leo finally reacted by sighing.

"And I speak the truth. I've known Ruth much longer than I've known you. Since elementary school, in fact." He paused. "We've been good friends ever since, " Leo said with a smile.

"So naturally, you two must be close anyway. She must mean a lot to you," Eddie said.

"Yes, she is. She was one of the first of few who befriended me in my orphanage days."

Eddie suddenly went silent for several seconds.

"What?" Leo asked.

"You were an orphan?" Eddie asked slowly.

"Yeah. It's something that I don't tell too many people, but then again, people don't really ask."

"I never knew that about you," Eddie said quietly. The usual energy that was present in Eddie's voice was conspicuously absent.

"What's up?" Leo asked, picking up on Eddie's tone.

Eddie hesitated for a second before replying. "Nothing. I'll tell you about it later."

"Anyway," Eddie continued awkwardly. "I'll tell Miguel to forget about Ruth, since you don't want her to be involved anyway."

"Thank you, Eddie. And if it'll make you feel better, you don't have to tell me anything. I know that you like to keep secrets," Leo said with a smirk.

"Thanks, Leo. And for the record, it's about my past."

"I understand," Leo said. "A touchy subject?"

"Exactly."

"Alright then. Call me when the rest of the gang is here, then we'll go on our little manhunt."

______________________________________________________________________________

At the top of the cul-de-sac, there was a sedan parked behind the first car. Inside was a man who was sitting at the wheel, with a cell phone in his hands.

"You got it, Leo."

With that, the man known as Eddie Vandirez, or more precisely Eduardo Vandirez, hung up.

He just sat there, in the drivers seat, for several seconds. And then he sighed a heavy sigh.

'_I'm sorry Leo, but I'm going to have to disobey you on this one. I believe that something bad is going to happen tonight, particularly to you.'_

When it came to premonition, Eddie had an uncanny knack for making accurate predictions. Most of the time, they turn out to be true. Other times, not so. And the interesting thing is that Eddie is not a psychic or takes a drug of some sorts in order for him to get a feeling. It is just that, a feeling; if Eddie could describe it, the feeling would be similar to butterflies in his stomach.

'_And I believe that she needs to witness it for herself.'_

And with that, Eddie dialed a number into his cell and pressed the call button.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Well, I'm back with some more chapters. For any of you folks out there reading this (I have no clue who is or isn't), enjoy and sorry for the long time to update.

One other thing. This story has been posted for almost a year now. Granted, there are not many chapters to it, but I intend to work at it until it's finished. The thing is, practically no one is reviewing. Nobody, nada, zippo. Almost a full year has gone by and only one person reviewed. So, with that being said, I want you - the reader - to leave a review so that I at least know that my story is getting some attention. I would really appreciate it if you folks did so. As for the anonymous readers out there, I've allowed for anonymous reviewing. For those of you who leave a review, thank you.

Enjoy.

**

* * *

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**Prologue - Chapter Four**

"**...I'm going to regret this."**

It was dark, quiet and peaceful. The only sound that was even being made was the steady breathing of an adolescent teenage girl. And then the peace was shattered suddenly with the ringing of a phone.

It rang several times before a reaction was finally elicited from the sleeping teen.

Slowly, she awoke with a small groan. She barely opened her eyes, just enough to make out her surroundings. She could barely see, not only because of how open her eyes were - it was still early morning hours, although she didn't know exactly when. She could tell that the object that so rudely interrupted her sleep was her cell phone and that it was on her desk, on the other side of the room.

With a sigh, she got up out of bed and reached for the offending device that was still making a small racket.

"Hello?"

Since it was early in the morning, she tried to greet as best she could, but her voice still came out sounding groggy. The person calling then spoke the words that made her face fall.

"I'm sorry. I must've called the wrong number." The person, a man by the sound of it, then hung up. Then she was listening to a dial tone.

She removed the phone from her ear and stared at it for several seconds. "Well, good morning to you too, jackass," she said to her phone.

With that, she half-placed, half-tossed her phone back onto the desk, not caring too much if it was damaged somehow. She moved sluggishly back to her bed and unceremoniously plopped herself down onto it. No sooner when she was covered with her blankets, the phone rang yet again.

She groaned with frustration-laced fatigue. _'Come on! There are people who are trying to get some sleep here!'_ she inwardly complained. _'Maybe if I ignore it, the asshole trying to call me will give up.'_

But the noisy demon continued to ring, much to her chagrin. With a heavy sigh, she flung the blankets off of her figure and got out of bed a second time and made for her now annoying phone.

It rang one final time before she reached her desk, as if it could sense her annoyance and rang just to spite her. She reached for it and unmercifully squelched its ringing with a forceful jab of the talk button.

"What!" she half-yelled to the caller, not caring if she offended the person.

To her surprise, she heard what sounded like chuckling on the other end. "My, aren't we cranky this morning," a male voice responded.

"Yes, I am. Being roused from sleep by your phone can do that to anyone. Now would you kindly tell me who you are and what you want?"

"Come on, Ruth. Don't you recognize me? After all, I hang out with you and your best friend."

Eddie. No wonder she didn't recognize him. The man hardly ever calls her and she so far has been unable to get his phone number for some reason. When she does, however, she almost always gets an automated voice telling her that the phone number is out of service or something similar. Why she cannot be able to reach him is beyond her. Eddie was almost a stranger to both her and Leo, probably more to her than to Leo.

She blinked groggily and sighed. "Wow, Eddie. I'm surprised that you've actually called me for a change."

Usually, if Ruth wanted to call Eddie, she had to go and call Leo first and ask for the number. Leo always did seem to have the correct one. It always changed for some reason.

"So you do remember me! I feel special now!" Eddie said cheerfully and laughed.

Ruth gave a sardonic half-smile at his comment. She wasn't surprised at his attitude. Eddie always seemed to have enough energy to joke around.

"So, to what pleasure do I owe you for calling?" she asked.

"What kind of pleasure are you offering?" he asked flirtatiously.

"Shut up and get to the point, Eddie."

"Jeez, you're no fun. It's all business with you."

"Eddie, you of all people should know that I hate people who try to flirt with me. You're lucky that you're a friend. Otherwise, your face will be bloodied and bruised by the time I'll be through with you."

He laughed. "Feisty as ever. All right, if you want to get straight down to business, then lets talk. I need you to do a favor for me."

Ruth narrowed her eyes. Warily, she asked: "What kind of favor?"

There was a reason for Ruth's caution. Although she knew very little about Eddie, she did know that some of his actions tended to get him on the wrong side of the law. In addition, he has asked for her help with questionable activities before. She always said no but sometimes he was persistent. Fortunately, Leo was readily available to prevent Eddie's advances - he always seemed to be that one line that Eddie did not want to cross.

A heavy sigh was heard. "I'll come out and say it Ruth. What I ask of you will not exactly be considered legal."

Needless to say, Ruth was not surprised in the least. _'I knew it would be something like this.'_

As if he could read her mind, Eddie said "At least hear me out."

She scowled. Eddie was a friend after all. Well, kind of. He was more of a friend to Leo then to her.

She sighed and rubbed the back of her head. _'I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this.'_

"What is it?"

"You know those bank robbers from earlier this week?"

"Yeah."

"Well I've managed to track them down and I'm going on a little manhunt. You want to join? I'll make it worth your while."

"No," she said quickly. "Bribery won't get me to -"

"Leo will be with us too."

She froze mid-sentence, unsure of how to proceed with this new information. She knew that Leo tended to accompany Eddie in many of his unlawful operations and somehow come out of them without being in trouble with the police. She asked him one time about this and he said "I didn't do anything illegal." Although he did not go into detail, she trusted him that he was telling the truth. She also thought that having a father who worked in the police force tended to help things to.

Then Eddie said something that completely caught her off guard. "Come on Ruth. Pretty please with sugar on top?"

It was a complete 180 from his serious demeanor that he was in only a moment ago. But then again, Eddie tended to act this way - childish and constantly joking around. She could imagine him grinning ear to ear and flashing her two thumbs up. That simple thought and the strange way he was asking her were enough to tip the conversation in his favor.

She sighed. "You know what Eddie?"

"What?" he asked, his voice dripping with cheeriness.

"I think you're getting crazier. I can't believe that actually worked."

"You know, I was hoping that it would to," he said, laughing.

"So when do you want me to leave? And where are we meeting at?"

"Don't worry about that Ruth. I've got it covered. I've arranged for one of my guys to come and pick you up."

While he was saying this, Ruth could distinctly hear a car door slam just outside.

"Really?" she asked. She moved to her window and carefully and cautiously parted the blinds that were blocking her view of the street.

Outside, parked right next to the curb on the other side of the street, practically right in plain view from her window, was a brown sedan. A tall, muscular man with a shaved head was leaning against the car with a cigarette in his hands, exhaled smoke rising into the air. The man parked the car (if it was his presumably) in such a way so that it was directly in the center of the beam of a street light. This practically screamed "I'm waiting for somebody" and called a lot of attention to him. It was way too conspicuous.

'_Damn quiet car. I didn't even hear it pull up,' _Ruth thought.

"Yep," Eddie replied. "He should be there soon."

"Uh huh" was all she said in response.

She looked again. This time, he had a cell phone pressed up against his ear.

"Say, would your friend be about your height and have a shaved head?"

"It depends. Does he look Mexican?" he asked.

She looked a third time. And now that Eddie mentioned it, the man did indeed look Mexican.

"Yeah."

"Then it might be -" Eddie paused for a second. "Hold on a sec, I'm getting another call."

She was put on hold a second later. Ruth looked back out of the window again. The man was talking. _'I'll bet that that's Eddie's man.'_

Not even thirty seconds transpired when the man seemed to end the call and close the cell phone.

A second later, Eddie was once again talking.

"Yeah, that's him all right."

"All right. Tell him I'll be ready to go in ten minutes," Ruth said.

"Sure thing, sexy."

"Stop that," she replied monotonously. _'I swear, I know way too many flirts.'_

Eddie's response was simply laughter before he hung up.

'_I am going to utterly hate this.'_

* * *

True to her reluctant word, Ruth was ready to leave in ten minutes time.

A quick change of clothes, a thorough brushing of the teeth, and the retrieval of her keys, cell phone, and jacket was all she needed to do. No need for makeup or a shower; there was no need nor did she have the time.

'_And besides, I don't smell too bad,'_ she thought. _'I can clean myself when I get back.'_

One of the reasons why she was so reluctant was due to the fact that getting out of her house would not be easy. Her current guardians, her grandparents, were light sleepers and sneaking out without waking them would be a challenge.

'_If they figure out what I'm up to, they'll kill me!'_

With that in mind, Ruth silently opened her bedroom door, slipped out silently, and closed the door quietly behind her. She kept herself quiet for several seconds, listening for any sign that her grandparents were awake and aware. She waited.

Silence. She sneaked her way to her grandparents' room and pressed her ear up against the door. She did not dare open it, for fear of being discovered. Inside, she could make out the distinct sound of snoring.

'_Well, grandpa's fast asleep,'_ Ruth thought humorously.

'_But what about grandma?'_

She moved cautiously onwards into the living room - and instantly froze. Although it was dark, she could make out the figure of her grandmother, sitting in the living room reclining chair. At first, Ruth thought that she was caught. But then she could make out the steady rise and fall of her grandmother's shoulders.

'_Oh, thank you God, she's asleep!'_

Ruth stealthily slipped by and headed for the door. As quietly as she could, she unlocked the door, opened it, and closed it behind her and locked it.

And then she let out a heavy sigh. _'Out of one mess and into another.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Prologue - Chapter Five**

**A Wrathful Goddess**

Miguel Vasquez was enjoying a cigarette while he was waiting for his contact to arrive - the woman whom Eddie described as an associate of the gang's good friend Leo. But this was Eddie. And with this contact being a woman, Eddie was more than likely to say something more than just "she's a friend."

Indeed, Eddie mentioned a few _interesting_ details. But Miguel was a skeptic and he lived by the mantra of "seeing is believing." So until she decided to show herself, he would just have to wait.

And besides, Miguel was not completely wasting his time. Two other comrades from the gang were supposed to meet up with him anyway. In fact, the second of the two had just arrived.

"Hey Miguel. What's up, man?" he greeted.

Miguel exhaled a puff of smoke. "Nothing much, Joey. Just waiting for this damn chick."

"You mean the one that was mentioned by Eddie?" Joey asked, coming up beside his friend.

"The very same. Personally, I don't think we should bring her along. She's got no idea what we do and she's gonna get in the way."

"I know what you mean dude," Joey replied. "But, orders are orders."

Miguel sighed, but did not respond. Joey then turned his attention to the second person currently waiting with his friend. Joey recognized the man immediately - he was a fellow comrade of their small gang. He was also the biggest and the most introverted of the entire group.

"Hey, Dimitri. What's up?"

The man in question merely nodded his head in reply, which was to be expected from this particular member of the gang.

His name was Dimitri Volkov. According to the various bits and pieces of nonverbal communication that he showed, he was a Russian, and he was a big one to. In fact, of the entire seven-man street-gang, he was the biggest and tallest member - towering over even Miguel and Eddie at an impressive and intimidating 6'5". And all that height allowed for a lot of muscle.

Joey liked to put it this way: if he was a small convertible car, then Eddie would be a truck - doing a lot of the heavy hauling. And if Eddie was a truck, then that made Dimitri a tank - capable of doing the real dirty work and just conducting in the affairs of punishment in general. And he fit that roll perfectly. He was the gang's sword and shield, and Dimitri would not have it any other way. In fact, often times it was his sheer strength and combative prowess that helped out the team in tight situations.

But if one were to say Dimitri was not intelligent because of this trait, they would be incorrect. He had, not only brawn, but brains as well. He pitches in on gang meetings when necessary, providing his rather valuable two cents worth. Usually, his ideas are payed much attention to and his notifications accounted for. But, for obvious reasons, he was especially well informed when it came to fighting and battle strategies.

In addition to being taller than most people - rivaling even tall basketball players - and looking like he was taking steroids that he probably did not even need (and Joey, along with the rest of the gang, certainly believed that to be the case), he always wore a neutrally serious expression on his face that was neither too aggressive nor too nice. But he still somehow managed to make himself look _mean._

On a side note, although Joey did not consider himself to be homosexual in anyway possible, he believed that Dimitri was not an ugly individual and was handsome enough and capable enough to get hooked up with a girl if he tried to.

If one could describe his face, one word would come to mind: normal. Not too dashing, where he would steal the breath of every girl he would walk by, nor not too ugly, where everyone would shy away from in revulsion. A rounded face with a slightly bent nose and brown eyes and eyebrows. His lips could be described as normal as well, neither too big nor too small. His chin and jaw line, however, did seem to be more pronounced than the rest of his face. Like Miguel, he had a shaved head. However, the one thing that set him apart from his two comrades (aside from his massive bulk) was the evidence of a beard that was shaved recently, leaving a slight stubble.

However, the man did have a flaw. He did not talk much, if at all. And that led to communication problems with the crew sometimes. And this in turn, somehow, led to the dissolution of Joey's theory - _'You can't pick up a girl if you don't even say a word, right?'_ being Joey's internal argument - and making him socially inept because of his lack of communication.

'_Come to think of it,' _he thought. _'I don't think I've ever heard him talk at all.'_

He sighed at that thought and looked over at his Russian ally, who was leaning up against the light pole and staring at nothing in particular. Much like Miguel, was leaning up against the car and smoking his cigarette.

Joey sighed again. _'This is too boring. Gotta mix things up a bit.'_

With that thought in mind, he walked over to Dimitri, determined to start a conversation with his non-social comrade.

As Joey passed him, Miguel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. _'What the hell is he doing?'_

"So, Dimitri..." Joey started. Dimitri looked down and gave him his attention. "Have you run into any hot girls lately?"

His only reaction was to raise an eyebrow - it seemed like Dimitri was saying something like "you're kidding me, right?" with his body language.

But Dimitri decided to play along and see where this would lead. He shook his head in response.

"What? You've got to be bullshiting me dude! I'm pretty sure a hot stud like you can easily pick up a girl," he said, laughing. "No homo," he added.

Dimitri again raised an eyebrow, in a "what the fuck?" kind of way. Miguel was giving Joey a similar look, except his expression was a bit more serious than Dimitri's.

"Joey, leave the guy alone," Miguel said.

"What? I'm not bothering the guy. Isn't that right, Dimitri?"

The man only shrugged in reply, either in agreement to Joey's question or he just simply did not care. Joey, however, decided to go with the former and continued talking.

"See? He doesn't mind," he said, returning his attention to Dimitri.

"The thing is Dimitri, I can hook you up with a girl if you -"

"We all know that you can't hold onto a girl until you've bumped pelvises together," Miguel interrupts. "So what makes you think you can hook someone else up with a girl if you can't even stick with a woman for ten fucking minutes, which is normally how long it takes for you to screw the poor girl."

"Look who's talking, you damn hypocrite! You're the one who's always smacking lips with that girl of yours! I'm surprised that you two don't have kids yet!"

"Well we've been going out for a couple years know, unlike you," was Miguel's calm response. "The moment a girl starts talking to you, you think about getting in her pants. It's no surprise really that once you're done with them, they start giving you some violent death threats."

"Yeah, but not all of them," Joey countered.

"The ones that don't threaten you are hookers. Face it Joey, you don't have any of the charm that the ladies fall for or want."

Dimitri, despite himself, chuckled lightly, but not lightly enough to avoid being heard by Joey. In an instant, Joey turned on him.

"What the hell are you laughing at, you damn Commie?!" Joey yelled aggressively. The Russian made a scowl in response, a pure sign that the comment angered him. But Dimitri didn't respond. He just glared darkly at Joey, an expression that could intimidate any man - including Joey. Which was exactly what the man was now feeling.

"Careful Joey. You don't want to go and actually piss him off now, do you?" Miguel asked with a chuckle.

Before Joey could retaliate, there was the sound of a door being closed, which came from the house on the other side of the street. The house where the contact was supposed to live.

The trio turned their heads to look in the direction of the noise.

In the darkness, just outside of the light of the street lamp, a distinctly female figure walked towards the group from the house. And into the light stepped a beautiful woman. Beautiful enough to practically cause Joey to drool - in fact, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

She had a fair complexion and was tall and thin, standing around 5'10" - which was Joey's guess - and a generous bosom (which was also one of the first things about her that he noticed).

'_Nice rack,'_ he thought. _'Gotta at least be a D cup - if not a double D_!'

The woman stopped just inside the radius of the light beam, perhaps sensing that she was being scrutinized. In fact, she was not only aware of this, but she herself was examining the three men. She had a slightly defensive stance to her body posture, Joey noted.

'_Hmm. She's got a small waist. Big boobs and a small ass - I'm liking her even more!'_

Her face was practically flawless - not a single blemish or freckle could be seen. Her nose - also seemingly a work of art, like the rest of her face - was straight. Her lips were just the right size, not too big nor too small.

Her eyes were a grey color, a shade that almost seemed to match the color of the snow that was still falling that early morning. She only had a few bangs coming down from her hair that reached down to her eyes, which she just brushed aside. But that was when Joey noticed the color of her hair and eyebrows. _White._

'_Wait, what?'_ he thought incredulously, doing a double take.

Sure enough, her long hair, descending down to her shoulder blades, was as white as the snow itself. And strangely enough, it seemed to have a lustrous quality to it.

'_Ok, freaky albino, but I don't care. She's still fucking hot.'_

Joey finally snapped out of his ogling stupor and glanced back at Miguel, who was watching him.

"What?"

"Dude, you were totally checking her out," Miguel replied. "I think you scared her."

"No I did -"

Joey paused mid-sentence, remembering Miguel's earlier comment.

"Know what? I'm gonna show both of you..." he challenged, pointing to both Miguel and Dimitri. "...that I've got charm. Just you watch." Then he strode off to meet the woman.

Miguel and Dimitri exchanged amused glances. "This ought to be good," Miguel said to the Russian, stamping out his cigarette on the street.

* * *

Ruth studied the three men as they talked amongst themselves, out of ear-shot. Well, two of them were talking - the third was leaning up against the light pole and looking at her, no doubt studying her as well.

She recognized the Mexican-looking man as Eddie's guy, but she was not too sure about the other two.

Then one of them started walking to her. He had slicked back blonde hair, brown eyes and eyebrows, and a straight nose that was partially surrounded by freckles. As he approached her, he had a charming smile on his face.

And because of that one little smile, Ruth knew exactly what kind of person this man was.

'_Another one?! How many flirts will I have to meet in the next twenty-four hours?!' _she thought, exasperated.

The man walked right up to her, still with that annoying smile on his face.

'_Ok, calm down, Ruth. Just because he's smiling doesn't mean he's trying to get my number.'_

"Why hello there madame. My name is Joey Giordano, at your service."

'_Ok, I stand corrected. He's doing the prince charming act.'_

"Are you currently in charge?" Ruth asked.

"I am indeed." A ways behind Joey, she could see one of the men - the Mexican-looking one - scoff.

'_Mhm. Course you are buddy.'_

"When do we leave?" she asked.

"Right now, if you desire."

"Ok then. Lets go." With that, she walked past Joey towards the car and the other two men.

"Wait," he said calmly.

Ruth stopped walking and turned around. "What is it?"

"I think I've seen you somewhere before."

"Oh really? Where?"

"I believe I saw you in my dreams."

'_Ooh, that card, huh? He's pulling out all the stops._'

"We were talking, you and I," he continued.

"And what did the two of us say?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just complimenting your incredible beauty. You are the spitting image of an angel."

"Ahuh," she said slowly.

'_This guy has been talking to the mirror way too long.'_

"And what did I say in response?"

"You asked for my number," he stated.

Ruth face-palmed and shook her head. _'Oh how fucking ironic. You're laughing up there, aren't you God? This is just one crazy joke that you've pulled together to test my faith, isn't it? Well guess what? The joke is on you!'_

"You want to know what my response is to that?" she asked, walking back towards him.

"Yes I do."

"This is my response," she said, smiling.

And with that, she rammed her fist into his stomach, doubling him over. She quickly followed up with a powerful uppercut to his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Then she grabbed his wrist, twirled around, and did a Judo style throw over her shoulders, sending him crashing to the asphalt. And finally, she finished it all with a coup de grâce - an almighty stomp to his already punished gut. When she was finished, her victim lay rolling on the ground, moaning in pain.

She knelt down right next to him and said, "Nice try Mr. Giordano, but you'll have to do better than that. Much better."

Joey's only response was to mutter something.

"What was that, I didn't hear?" she said mockingly.

"Fuck," he groaned out. "I think you dislocated my jaw."

'_Looks like he dropped the whole sophisticated and charming act,'_ she thought humorously.

"Well maybe you should've thought of the possibility of me kicking your ass before you started flirting with me." And with that, she got up and walked over to the man she thought to be the leader. Seeing this, he strode over and held out his hand.

Ruth accepted the hand shake and asked, "You in charge?"

"Miguel Vasquez, Eddie's right hand man," he rattled off happily. He had an expression on his face that was a mixture of surprise and amusement. "And I take it that you're Ruth Valentine, right?"

"Correct. I hope you don't mind me beating up your friend."

"Not at all. Someone had to put him in his place," he said with a smile. "I always figured that it would be one of the many girls that he hit on. But I never thought that it would be a girl he just met. Moreover, I'm surprised, and delighted, to actually witness it."

He glanced over her shoulder to Joey and called out, "How does it feel to get your ass handed to you by a _girl_, you fucking idiot!"

"Bite me!" was his retort. He was still writhing on the ground.

"He's a big chauvinist," he then said to her. "Cocky bastard too. He had this coming to him for a while now."

"Well then, it was my pleasure to help," Ruth replied. She walked towards the parked car and situated herself in the right rear passenger seat, shutting the car door behind her. Miguel's eyes followed her the entire way. He had to admit, the woman was breathtakingly beautiful, but she was not a woman that he could indulge in. After all, he had his own lucky lady to look after too - one that he wouldn't give up for the world for that matter.

'_Eddie was right,'_ he thought. _'That woman is interesting. I've lost all my doubts about her. But now I need to go dig Joey out of the ground.'_ He smiled at that thought. _'Might as well be his future grave. I can see it now - "Here lies Joey Giordano. He died a gruesome death when he flirted with the wrong woman."'_ he added with a small chuckle.

Miguel turned his attention to Joey and saw that Dimitri was already pulling Joey up to his feet. Joey, however, did not feel like walking, and Dimitri had his arm draped around his neck, essentially pulling him along. He was really being a team player, even after Joey's little "Commie" comment.

"Oh yeah, you really swooned her with your charm," Miguel said with mocking laughter.

"Again, bite me."

"So buckaroo, how do you feel?" Miguel continued, slapping him on the back. Although it was not painful, Joey still groaned all the same.

"Not only does she look like a motherfucking goddess," Joey said through gritted teeth. "but she's wrathful like one too."

"Too right, buddy."


End file.
